The effect of spatial competition between object-level representations of target and mask on object substitution masking

One of the processes determining object substitution masking (OSM) is thought to be the spatial competition between independent object file representations of the target and mask (e.g., Kahan & Lichtman, 2006). In a series of experiments, we further examined how OSM is influenced by this spatial competition by manipulating the overlap between the surfaces created by the modal completion of the target (an outline square with a gap in one of its sides) and the mask (a four-dot mask). The results of these experiments demonstrate that increasing the spatial overlap between the surfaces of the target and mask increases OSM. Importantly, this effect is not caused by the mask interfering with the processing of the target features it overlaps. Overall, the data indicate, consistent with Kahan and Lichtman, that OSM can arise through competition between independent target and mask representations.     

Visual awareness of objects and their colour

At any given moment, our awareness of what we 'see' before us seems to be rather limited. If, for instance, a display containing multiple objects is shown (red or green disks), when one object is suddenly covered at random, observers are often little better than chance in reporting about its colour (Wolfe, Reinecke, & Brawn, Visual Cognition, 14, 749-780, 2006). We tested whether, when object attributes (such as colour) are unknown, observers still retain any knowledge of the presence of that object at a display location. Experiments 1-3 involved a task requiring two-alternative (yes/no) responses about the presence or absence of a colour-defined object at a probed location. On this task, if participants knew about the presence of an object at a location, responses indicated that they also knew about its colour. A fourth experiment presented the same displays but required a three-alternative response. This task did result in a data pattern consistent with participants' knowing more about the locations of objects within a display than about their individual colours. However, this location advantage, while highly significant, was rather small in magnitude. Results are compared with those of Huang (Journal of Vision, 10(10, Art. 24), 1-17, 2010), who also reported an advantage for object locations, but under quite different task conditions.     

Maternal Psychiatric Disorders, Parenting, and Maternal Behavior in the Home During the Child Rearing Years

Data from the Children in the Community Study, a community-based longitudinal study, were used to investigate associations between maternal psychiatric disorders and child-rearing behaviors. Maternal psychiatric symptoms and behavior in the home were assessed in 782 families during the childhood and adolescence of the offspring. Maternal anxiety, depressive, disruptive, personality, and substance use disorders were independently associated with current and subsequent parenting difficulties and other problems in the home during the child rearing years, after co-occurring disorders and offspring behavior problems were controlled statistically. Maternal personality disorders were most consistently associated with problems in the home during the child rearing years. Less than 1 of 3 mothers with disorders reported having received treatment. Those who received treatment were significantly less likely to experience multiple difficulties in the home during the child rearing years. These findings suggest that maternal psychiatric disorder may be an important determinant of problematic maternal behavior in the home during the child rearing years. Improved recognition and treatment of maternal psychiatric disorders may help to reduce the amount of maladaptive parenting behavior that many youths might otherwise be likely to experience.     

The Effects of Parental Tobacco and Marijuana Use and Personality Attributes on Child Rearing in African-American and Puerto Rican Young Adults

We assessed the effect of the interrelationship of mothers’ and fathers’ tobacco and marijuana use with their personality attributes on some of their child rearing behaviors. We used a longitudinal design to analyze the data of 258 males and females who were seen four times over a 13-year period from early adolescence through young adult parenthood. Thirty-one percent of the multiple regression analyses revealed significant interactions between the effect of tobacco or marijuana use and a personality attribute on child rearing. The majority of these significant interactions suggested that protective personality characteristics were offset by substance use risks resulting in less adequate child rearing. If these results are substantiated in an experimental intervention, it suggests that having resilient personality attributes does not protect against the negative effects of tobacco or marijuana use on child rearing.     

Linkage of Oedipal Dangers and Mastery to Theodor Herzl's Zionism

This paper demonstrates that Herzl's development of political Zionism was largely a reflection of his improved mastery of Oedipal dangers. Before his Zionism, he had been a total assimilationist. This was manifested in the nature of his disdainful attitude towards the Jewish masses and in idealization of selected non-Jews, as well as in his conflicted Jewish identity. In his thirties, various external events undermined the assimilationist approach; other events, plus ego maturation, allowed a more effective mastery of Oedipal dangers. Thus, he was able to react more appropriately and creatively to intensifying anti-Semitism by developing Zionism that reflected increased honor, manliness, and reconciliation.     

Narrative process modes as a bridging concept for the theory, research and clinical practice of systemic therapy

This article is concerned with the relationships which hold between the clinical practice and the theory of family therapy; and between these and academic research. These relationships are seen as tenuous and thin because, in the first place, there is a lack of rigorous theoretical underpinning; and second, the research methods employed do not fit in with current family therapy practice, and with the theory that underlies this practice. The role of the concept of narrative process modes is proposed as a bridging and mediating one. The external, internal and reflective narrative process modes are seen as relevant from the point of view of family therapy process research, and the clinical practice of marital and family therapy.